Specialist

To me, Interpol just EXUDES sex, and 'specialist' is a prime example. This song is not only my favorite song by Interpol, but my favorite song ever. I love it's dark, sexy, raw vibe with the sick bass and guitar licks. Hawt.

I personally do not believe this song has ANYTHING to do with murder or drugs like previous people have mentioned. I believe that this song is about an older, of age man in a relationship with an underage girl. From the beginning of the song you can tell that the relationship is all about sex. (You make me loose my buttons) When he says 'colder than yourself' I think he is referring to how he doesn't like her that much as a person, (at least not at first) and thinks she is emotionless. 'Now we're moving, now we're taking control' But he loves the sex, so they move right along.

'My love's a laboratory, I set all my pet's free, so baby, you should sleep with me'
-No strings attached sex

'I make trips to the bathroom' -Maybe that is where he is meeting her?

'Yeah, my friends all have true grit' -His 'friends' are very persistent, for whatever reason...I'm not really sure...

'I am speckled like a leopard' -I always took this sentence literally because Paul Bank's face is, in fact, speckled with large freckles

'Put a lid on Shirley Temple, yeah you make sleek kills, yeah you travel, you travel' -Stop the whole 'act' of being cute and innocent, you know what you are doing, you've been around the block

Then Paul goes on to say,

'I love the way you put me in the big house' -Since he is of age and she is underage, it is illegal and that is thrilling to him. He loves how when he is with her there is a certain danger surrounding the both.

Then further down,

'And speak, when you're spoken of' -She is younger, and he sometimes looks down on her for that

'Catch up on your sleep, girl, when you wear that body glove' -I take this to mean, and this may be waaaay off, but I'm just throwing it out there, that he wants her to finally get some rest at night while she can, when its that time of the month for her.

'You're acting on initiative, you're spelling out your love, you shouldn't be alone in there, you could be above ground' -Your declaring your love to me on your own accord, and instead of being all alone right now, you could be here with me, and we could be together

Then he goes on to reference crime 'oh this time, there'll be no life of crime' again, referencing her being underage and the danger that surrounds it.

"Circle all around me now, baby, it will be okay. Cause we all go downtown sometimes. Somehow, baby, we will beat this mess, it's the time, fuck the surface, to meet the specialist' -He is saying that 'this is okay'. It may be wrong in some people's eyes, and may even be considered illegal, but everyone does something (for lack of a better word) bad, somtimes. So screw all the people that think our relationship is wrong, and just be with me, because I know what I am doing

'Time away form me will get you down' -You don't like it when we are not together

Then later on he continues,

'Honey bee, we should be through with this, your packaged eyes, your vicious lips' -They shouldn't be in this relationship as long as they have, but he likes her so much now that he just can't get away. The sex is too good.

'You could be young, but you're out of touch, if this love's been done, then what's your rush' -Your young, but you don't act it, you are out of touch with your youth, your innocence. If this love is over, then what is your rush to move on?

'I'm the specialist in hope, and I'm registered to vote, won't you come into my barrio, we'll see if you can float' -I've been around, I am an expert on sex, and I am older than you, so come with me and we'll see if you can keep up.

This song is interpol at their finest. Period.

it is on the black ep but it was originally on the interpol ep i believe

I can't help but feel the line 'It's the time fuck the surface to meet the specialist' is actually It's the time FOR the surface to meet the specialist', which makes more sense syntactically. I must admit when I first heard it I did think he said 'fuck' but now all I hear is 'for'.

I think this song is about a no-strings-attached sexual relationship, as others have mentioned, but I think the woman is trying to make it something more.

"We're spending time and money Yeah you're colder than yourself Now we're moving, now we're taking control"

He believes that they're wasting time by going out and doing things when they could be having sex. He only starts feeling fulfilled when that happens.

He starts talking again about how good the sex is and how attracted he is to her outward appearance.

"Love/Trust will get you down"

He is trying to convince this woman who wants to turn casual sex into a committed relationship that it's not what's best for her.

"I make trips to the bathroom My friends all have true grit I am speckled like a leopard"

This one I'm a little unsure of. She may not be sleeping with him because he's not committing to her, so he goes makes frequent trips to the bathroom to...masturbate? He tries to explain to her: His friends have true grit, as in they're able to commit to things (relationships), but he is wired differently. He's more of a player. He's like a leopard, and what is the defining trait of a leopard? Leopards are fast. He has fun with one girl, and quickly moves on to the next one, so she shouldn't get attached.

"I love the way you put me in the big house"

I'm not quite sure. Maybe he's being sarcastic to her, inferring that he hates how she puts him in "prison" because she won't offer herself to him.

"And speak when you're spoken of Catch up on your sleep When you wear that body glove"

He's frustrated, and possibly being sarcastic to her again by telling her to get her rest while he is forced out of the bedroom. While she sleeps with her clothes on.

"You're acting on initiative You're spelling out your love You shouldn't be alone in there You could be above ground"

Trying again to convince her that she shouldn't be alone in the bedroom, and that he knows what's best for her.

"If you're frustrated then go"

Although he's attracted to her, he can find someone else who doesn't need to be in a committed relationship.

"Honey bee, we should be through with this, Your packaged eyes, your vicious lips You could be young, but you're out of touch If this love's been done, then what's your rush?"

Here he is, pleading with her, telling her that she could feel young and have fun, but she's being old-fashioned. He kind of states his shallowness by acting like sex is the only important matter and questioning why she would need more than that.

He's a specialist in having good sex, but not at any other aspect of a relationship.

A long comment for an incredible song.

sigh am i the only one who likes this song? so good... oh paul banks, how i love thee

i love this song too, the lyrics are so awesome. my love is a laboratory; i am speckled like a leopard, just like a leopard. you make me lose my buttons. man this whole song is just so good.

the first time i heard this i thought "this is good, but not quite up to par with the rest of their stuff." after a few more listens i've realized it's just as good as everything on Bright Lights, i wish they would have included it. such a great song. i can't wait for the new album

yeah, i'm really excited for their new album... i think it's called 'antics' and comes out late september-ish... i've heard a few of the songs, 'narc' and 'length of love', i think 'a time to be so small' is on it, too... at first i totally hated interpol, ignorantly thinking they were just a poor man's joy division... blah blah, anyway, now they're my favourite band... i'm such a sucker for paul banks and his aviators... i'm probably going to see them at curiosa, though i'm not a huge cure fan... hopefully they'll do a tour in the fall...

paul banks knows how to write lyrics like a frustrated romantic and this is the best example

definitely one of the best songs by them, ever.